Resume Profiling - Part 2 | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

Target I received the following comment from E.S. Bruce on last week’s post about resume profiling, She said, ”I suspected this was happening. Now I know. I wish more examples of exactly what resume profilers read appeared in the article. What, exactly, do “winner” profiles look like in 2010?”

So E.S., I decided this week I would respond to your request as best as I can. However there is a slight glitch.
You see from the comments I received on this and other Career Rocketeer posts, I know my readers range from recent college graduates to C-Level executives, and work in different fields and industries. This makes it hard to offer specific examples what HR and decision maker profilers look for in ‘YOU.’

This said, let me suggest to each of you how to try and identify the prototype employers are looking for in the jobs you are applying for, and offer some guidelines and suggestions on how to prepare a “winner’s” profile.

First off, to understand the prototype an employer is looking for, I suggest you do a search of job boards, company websites, newspapers and trade magazines to find at least four jobs listed under the job title you are applying for at four different companies, and if you want a better picture you find another four. In doing the search you do not have to focus only on positions you want to apply for, the list can include jobs anywhere in the USA.

The caveat is the jobs you choose for this exercise should all reflect companies of the same size and in industries that you will eventually be applying at in order to develop an accurate profile.

Once you have done this, read them over thoroughly to identify the similarities among them in terms of required skills and responsibilities, the job description, and most of all the job’s objectives.

Once you have done this, you can begin to build a Profile by writing down the pointers that are ubiquitous in all the posting.

Example: For a Sales Manager
1: 4+ years experience at a managerial level or above
2: Experience must be in companies doing at least $10M in sales
3: Experience must be at the manufacturer or wholesale level
4: Needs hands on experience in recruitment and training
5: Must have led multiple teams in a multi-state territory
6: Must have sales analytics and strategic sales planning skills
7: Must have P/L responsibility
8: Companies place a great value on customer service
9: Experience preferred in a rapid growth company, not a turn around environment.
10: Must be an excellent negotiator

Now that you know 10 points that profilers of your resume are looking for, assign each a 1-10 value as to which are most or least important based on the strength of the words the post uses to describe each attribute, the frequency of its appearance in all 4-8 posts, and the prominence it is assigned in the laundry list on the post.

Then grade yourself 1-10 on each of them as well.

At this point, armed with this information you can begin to create Your Professional Profile.

Before you begin remember to chose adjectives that accurately depict your ability. If you are only good at something use the word proficient rather that excellent etc.

Now what I notice in 65% or more of the resumes I read is the Profile statement is one paragraph long, and it consists of 3-5 consecutive sentences of information, and nothing stands out. This seems to be what a lot of blogs and ‘How To’ books suggest, and many resume mills use this style as well. I

n my opinion, unless the resume is for someone whose position requires an old fashioned traditional style, this is not the way to attract attention in 2011.

So here are my suggestions on preparing a winning profile – notice I did not say writing because knowing what to write and writing it are two separate things. So be honest with yourself as to your ability to write a winning resume and if you can’t write a great resume, get some help.

1: Your Profile should be a “Value Statement” based on the points you identified in the exercise above. Talk about how you can affect the bottom line on the major points and only stress the points that you excel at.

2: Each point should be a stand alone statement with a .03 to.06 after margin spacing between them.

3: Try writing your profile based on keywords and write a brief detailed sentence about your expertise in this area. Some heading examples for the Sales manager may include Relationship management, Financial Management, Leadership, Negotiation, Training & Development etc.

4: You can also design a Profile into headings and write a value statement around each. Examples: Trusted Advisor, Subject Matter Expert, Problem Solver, Sales/Marketing etc, and begin the Profile with a Career Summary that can read like this.

Career Summary: Twenty years of consulting and executive level experience in Sales/Marketing organization development, coaching, change management and talent acquisition including 14 years experience at a Fortune 500 Company that stresses Total Quality Management (TQM) expertise.

If you need visual aids to understand what I am talking about, visit my website to view actual examples.

Author:

Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

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Perry Newman

Perry Newman is a nationally-renowned job transition specialist who develops branded resumes and is a career coach for executives, professionals and MBA’s seeking six- figure positions in multiple industries within the USA. As a Certified Placement Consultant, Certified Social Media Strategist and founder and former Managing Director of a NYC-based executive search firm, Perry has a rare combination of talent and experience that is essential for your success in today’s job market. Acknowledged as a subject matter expert in his field Perry is a sought-after public speaker for radio, TV shows and career services seminars and his articles and blog posts are published in national newspapers, magazines and blogs throughout the nation and the world.